GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY AND THE GREAT GRAPE

Watching over the Napa Valley, from the elevated point of Howell Mountain, ADAMVS Estate takes an organic approach to winemaking, while owners Denise and Stephen Adams ensure the very highest standards.

“Our background and passion for winemaking began nearly two decades ago when we intimately explored the winegrowing region of Bordeaux in France.” Denise Adams, proprietor-steward of ADAMVS explains: “Being Midwesterners, with gardening and farming backgrounds, it was not surprising that farming vineyards quickly became a vocation and passion of ours.”

After several attempts to find a site with promise, it wasn’t until they stepped onto the soil of Château Fonplégade in Saint-Émilion and shortly thereafter, Château L’Enclos in Pomerol that they knew they had found something truly special. With famed French winemaking consultant, Michel Rolland, living just a stone’s throw away from Château Fonplégade, they set out on a course to be mentored and work alongside the very best team. “We have had the privilege and pleasure of working with and under the tutelage of both Michel and assistant winemaker Franck Jugelmann, formerly of Château Haut-Brion for over 12 years now,” Denise says of her team at Château Fonplégade.

After years of hard work, patience, and reward in France, the Adams discovered the idyllic Howell Mountain property that would become ADAMVS…